


Can't Think Straight Around You

by TheRedR0bin



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Carpe Diem, Confessions, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentions of underaged drinking, One Shot, POV Third Person, Post-Young Justice Invasion, Pre-Young Justice Outsiders, Romance, Seizing the moment, bartuardo, goldenflash, zetaflash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26546512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedR0bin/pseuds/TheRedR0bin
Summary: ‘Y’know, Blue...where I grew up, there was no time for “what ifs”. If we didn’t do what we wanted, say what we wanted when we wanted to, there was no guarantee we’d have another chance...Carpe diem,amigo.' Was the advice Bart gave Jaime when he was conflicted about whether or not he should confess his feelings to Traci....Which begged the question why Bart wouldn’t take his own advice.
Relationships: Bart Allen/Eduardo Dorado Jr., Jaime Reyes/Traci Thirteen, Jaime Reyes/Traci Thurston
Comments: 16
Kudos: 76





	Can't Think Straight Around You

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just caught up with Young Justice Outsiders and I was completely taken by the BartxEd pairing!!!! Didn't know I would love them so much.  
> They are so, so cute together and I really hope they are confirmed in Young Justice Phantoms. <3 <3 <3
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like this little one-shot. ^^

Bart Allen was an enigma.

At his inception into the Team, he had initially come off as an animated, hyperactive boy who spoke really, _really_ fast. Sometimes to a point where they had to remind him to slow down.

Jaime found him quite annoying at first—especially when he kept nicking his favourite freeze-dried Chicken Whizees from Jaime’s locker. Because seriously…who does that!

But the more Jaime got to know him, the more he understood there was so much more to Bart than he portrayed; his loud, hyperactive self was actually just a persona and in peeling back the layers, he found a genuine, vulnerable, open-minded teen who in his every right, had a sombre side to him.

Bart was never easily forthcoming about his past, but there were occasions when he would let slip what it had really been like. From what Jaime could make of it all, he was glad they had managed to stop the Reach invasion in time before that future had the opportunity to take hold.

Now, he was glad to be able to call Bart his friend. He had a wisdom beyond his years and didn’t hesitate to call Jaime out when he found him to be doing something idiotic, despite being two years his junior.

It was exactly what Bart did when Jaime told him about Traci, a girl he’d met during a volunteer programme his school had organised.

He quickly became infatuated by her; she was cute and funny and cheerful, and they had easily become fast friends. Much too quickly for Jaime’s liking, because he found himself developing feelings for her. The last thing he wanted was to find himself in the friend zone.

Bart laughed when he relayed his concerns, whilst clutching his stomach and rolling on Jaime’s bed. For a whole of three minutes, as Jaime gave him his best death glare whilst the heat gathered on his cheeks. Bart was not phased in the slightest.

‘Dude, just tell her how you feel,’ said Bart when he managed to calm himself enough to speak.

‘What!’

Bart sat up and shrugged his shoulders like it was the easiest solution in the world. ‘It’s that simple, _her-man-o_ ,’ he grinned and reached out to grab the bowl of popcorn he had abandoned on the nightstand earlier.

‘It is _not_ that simple!’ Jaime declared throwing his hands up in frustration.

‘But why?’ The dude actually had the gall to look confused, eyebrows drawn together, as he munched on his snack.

‘Because it _isn’t_!’ Jaime said, scrubbing his hands over his face.

‘But why?’ Bart questioned once again; the words slightly distorted through his mouthful of popcorn. Piercing green eyes watched him, blinking quizzically.

It was Jaime’s turn to be confused. Deep down, he _knew_ —it made sense for Bart to question how things were in this time because he had been raised in a very different environment. But in his flustered state, Jaime couldn’t make that connection and he stared at his friend with incredulity. ‘B—Because...’ he tried to explain as he gestured with his hands, ‘what if she doesn’t like me back?... It might ruin what we already have...’

Bart chewed thoughtfully for a short moment, mulling over his friend’s words. ‘What if...’ he murmured the words, almost to himself. A smirk quirked the corner of his mouth. ‘Why waste time on a “what if”...’ he asked with earnestness. ‘Y’know, Blue...where I grew up, there was _no time_ for “what ifs”. If we didn’t do what we wanted, say what we wanted when we wanted to, there was no guarantee we’d have another chance.’ He laid a comforting hand on Jaime’s shoulder with an encouraging smile. ‘Carpe diem, _amigo_.’

* * *

As it turned out, Jaime did “seize the moment” as Bart advised him to do and he’s glad he did; he and Traci have been together since. All thanks to the enigma that was his best friend.

Since that day, he felt like his understanding of his friend had grown even more...

...Which begged the question why Bart wouldn’t take his own advice.

Since the Justice League and the Team started working to get a handle on the meta-human situation, various members were assigned to assist with the Meta-Human Youth Centre project to support misplaced meta-teens. Bart, being one of those assigned, had gotten re-acquainted with Eduardo, whose family played a big part in the project. Ed was, from what Bart mentioned to Jaime, extremely invested in becoming a peer counsellor at the Centre. Of all those involved in the project, they were the only two who had a shared experience with being kidnapped and experimented on by the Reach.

Jaime wasn’t an idiot. He realised that with him having a girlfriend, his time was split between Traci and Bart. And although Traci adored Bart and tried to include him whenever possible, Jaime knew that Bart probably felt like a third wheel at times, even though he never once complained.

Eduardo was a pretty cool guy, in Jaime’s opinion; warm and friendly, albeit quite hot-tempered. He had mellowed out after he returned to Star Labs and began working with his father to open up the Youth Centre. Suffice to say, with all of Bart’s time spent helping out with that project, he and Ed grew close.

Now, Jaime wasn’t one to pry into anyone’s business, even if said business was his own best friend’s, unless he felt like they were in serious trouble. But he had noticed the shift in Bart’s and Ed’s relationship.

It was subtle.

Small changes, like a touch on the shoulder that lingered a tad longer, or how they sought each other out when their friends got together for movie nights or barbecues, or how Bart would watch Ed when he thought no one was looking.

At first, Jaime paid them no mind. Bart had always been a very tactile guy—personal space was a foreign concept to him—and just because he became physically close with someone didn't necessarily mean anything.

It wasn’t until that night—his parents had been away for the weekend and Virgil thought it would be a good idea to invite the other teens for a party—when he found the two of them locked together in the corner of the room, and saw the soft smile that graced his friend’s lips, did he think something was up.

Knowing the kind of person Bart was, Jaime fully expected he and Ed to get together that night. Or, at the very least, for his friend to have confessed his feelings. However, come morning, Bart didn’t mention anything, and he and Eduardo continued to behave like nothing had changed. Still close, but not unusually so...for the two of them, anyway. 

So, Jaime assumed it was a trick of the light or the alcohol-spiked drinks he had had that made him see something that wasn’t there.

But, over the next few months, he continued to notice the same behaviour between Bart and Eduardo. So much so that it began to frustrate Jaime, and he eventually decided to confront Bart about it during dinner at the Allen family home. He bided his time and picked his moment when the two of them were washing the dishes after dinner.

<The Kid Flash’s defences are down. The time is opportune for an interrogation.> For once he and Khaji Da were in agreement.

‘So, you and Ed...’ he began slowly, watching for any shift in Bart’s demeanour and catching the way his friend’s hands stilled in the sudsy water. He gave Jaime a sheepish side-smirk. ‘You got a thing for him?’

‘I do,’ Bart admitted smoothly.

That was easier than expected and Jaime felt the strange tension in his shoulders leave him. He wondered if he really should continue to ask. Bart would tell him if he wanted to...But if Bart wasn’t being defensive about it, maybe it was okay to nudge... ‘Have y—’

‘That’s enough, boys,’ said Iris as she walked into the kitchen and cut their conversation short. Jaime had to refrain from groaning outwardly and showing displeasure at being interrupted. She handed them a hand towel to dry their hands with and ushered them into the living room. ‘Come on, we'll finish up later. It's time for dessert.’

<Negative. The probability of another opportunity for questioning is low. Refuse the Iris-West-Allen.>

‘No,’ Jamie rejected the unwanted advice. ‘I mean, dessert sounds perfect!’ he quickly said when he caught his host’s surprise.

He never got another chance to speak privately to Bart that night.

A month and a half later, exactly one week before the grand opening of the Meta-human Youth Centre, the members of the Team were assigned to support members of the Justice League make the final adjustments to have everything ready. Jaime found himself there alongside Traci, Cassie, and Virgil. Surprisingly, Bart wasn't included in the group and when he questioned it, Cassie explained he was on another mission with the Flash.

They had just about finished rounding everything up at the end of the day when Jaime felt a sudden whoosh of air ruffling his hair and clothes; Bart grinned widely up at him.

‘Hey there, _hermano_! How’d it go?’

‘Almost done,’ Jaime replied and tossed his half-eaten pack of Chicken Whizees to his friend, who caught it with a whoop of delight. ‘What are you even doing here? Didn’t you have your own mission?’

‘I did,’ Bart confirmed with a mouthful of the snack. ‘Just wanted to see how everything was going here?’

A little way off from where the two of them stood were the others: Cassie, Tracie, Virgil...and Ed.

Jaime watched Bart out of the corner of his eye. He stood there, dressed in a canary-yellow hoodie with the script “I can’t think _straight_ around you” printed in red on the front, navy-blue jeans, and his pair of low-friction sneakers.

It was just them, with everyone else out of earshot; there couldn’t be another time more perfect than this.

‘You got a thing for Ed,’ he began quietly and noted the way his friend’s face changed at the mention of the other teen’s name.

‘Mm.’ Bart tossed the empty packet into the bin nearby and speed-dusted the leftover crumbs from his hands.

‘Aren’t you gonna do something about it?’

With furrowed brows, Bart questioned, ‘What do you mean?’

Jaime let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Well, you like him, right?’

‘Yep,’ Bart nodded.

‘Then, shouldn’t you follow your own advice and do something about it, _hermano_?’ Jaime felt like smacking his face with his hand. ‘Y’know, carpe diem.’

‘Ah, well...’ Bart chewed his bottom lip. ‘Ed’s not exactly out to his dad. Yet...and I don’t want to take that decision out of his hands.’

Oh.

<The Kid Flash is incorrect; the Scientist, Eduardo Dorado Sr. is aware of the Eduardo Dorado Jr.’s public activities.>

‘...O—Okay...’ Jaime didn’t quite know what to say to that. He looked forward and noticed Ed making his way towards them. ‘But you could, _no se_ , tell him how you feel,’ he hissed.

Something was definitely up with the way that slow smirk curved Bart’s lips.

‘What makes you think I haven’t?’ he said just as the other teen reached them, his green eyes growing soft as they met Ed’s brown ones. ‘Ready to go?’

Jaime was stunned into speechlessness as he watched their exchange.

‘Yeah, let me just drop this inside,’ replied Ed. He took notice of the writing on Bart’s hoodie and chuckled. ‘That for me?’

‘Oh yeah,’ Bart smiled, eyes crinkling with the motion.

As Ed teleported indoors, Jaime felt a little stupid as he blinked at his friend. _Since when..._ he wanted to ask but the words got stuck in his throat and Bart sniggered at his expression.

‘I thought you knew,’ said Bart with a light apologetic grin, ‘especially after you asked me about it at dinner that time.’

<Elevated heart rate detected. The Kid Flash is lying.>

‘No, he’s...embarrassed.’ Jaime refuted his Scarab’s claims. Bart chuckled, knowing him well enough to understand when he was talking to Khaji Da and not him. ‘I thought you _liked_ him. I didn’t know you guys were together.’

‘Oh, oops.’ He rubbed the back of his head. ‘We didn’t exactly announce it because like I said, he’s still not out to his dad.’ Ed teleported back abruptly, startling Jaime. ‘Anyway, later Jaime. Let's double-date some time.’ He winked.

Jaime watched them go, not quite hand-in-hand, but close enough that their hands brushed each time they moved.

A soft hand curled into his and he turned his head to find Traci smiling up at him. Squeezing her hand in his own, Jaime directed his gaze back to the two boys walking ahead. He realised it didn’t matter that Bart hadn’t told him outright about his relationship with Ed...

His best friend deserved all the happiness in the world after everything he had been through and as it stands, Eduardo Dorado Jr. just might be the only one with the ability to keep up with someone like Bart Allen.

**Author's Note:**

> Do let me know your thoughts. ^^


End file.
